House Bill hb1229
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1229
By Representative Arza
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to charter technical career
3 centers; amending s. 228.505, F.S.; revising
4 provisions relating to approval of a charter;
5 deleting a requirement of the application to
6 establish a center; revising the dates for
7 submission and approval of an application;
8 deleting provisions relating to issuance of a
9 charter; revising provisions relating to the
10 basis of denial of an application; revising
11 provisions relating to funding of a center by
12 the center sponsor; providing an effective
13 date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Subsections (4) and (5), paragraphs (a) and
18 (c) of subsection (6), and paragraph (a) of subsection (11) of
19 section 228.505, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
20 228.505 Charter technical career centers.--
21 (4) CHARTER.--A sponsor may designate centers as
22 provided in this section. An application to establish a
23 center may be submitted by a sponsor or another organization
24 that is determined, by rule of the State Board of Education,
25 to be appropriate. However, an independent school is not
26 eligible for status as a center. The charter must be signed
27 by the governing body of the center and the sponsor, and must
28 be approved by the sponsor district school board and community
29 college board of trustees in whose geographic region the
30 facility is located. If a charter technical career center is
31 established by the conversion to charter status of a public
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1229
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1 technical center formerly governed by a district school board,
2 the charter status of that center takes precedence in any
3 question of governance. The governance of the center or of any
4 program within the center remains with its board of directors
5 unless the board agrees to a change in governance or its
6 charter is revoked as provided in subsection (15). Such a
7 conversion charter technical career center is not affected by
8 a change in the governance of public technical centers or of
9 programs within other centers that are or have been governed
10 by district school boards. A charter technical career center,
11 or any program within such a center, that was governed by a
12 school board and transferred to a community college prior to
13 the effective date of this act is not affected by this
14 provision. An applicant who wishes to establish a center must
15 submit to the local school board or community college district
16 board of trustees, or a consortium of one or more of each, an
17 application that includes:
18 (a) The name of the proposed center.
19 (b) The proposed structure of the center, including a
20 list of proposed members of the board of directors or a
21 description of the qualifications for and method of their
22 appointment or election.
23 (c) The workforce development goals of the center, the
24 curriculum to be offered, and the outcomes and the methods of
25 assessing the extent to which the outcomes are met.
26 (d) The admissions policy and criteria for evaluating
27 the admission of students.
28 (e) A description of the staff responsibilities and
29 the proposed qualifications of the teaching staff.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1229
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1 (f) A description of the procedures to be implemented
2 to ensure significant involvement of representatives of
3 business and industry in the operation of the center.
4 (g) A method for determining whether a student has
5 satisfied the requirements for graduation specified in s.
6 232.246 and for completion of a postsecondary certificate or
7 degree.
8 (h) A method for granting secondary and postsecondary
9 diplomas, certificates, and degrees.
10 (i) A description of and address for the physical
11 facility in which the center will be located.
12 (j) A method of resolving conflicts between the
13 governing body of the center and the sponsor and between
14 consortium members, if applicable.
15 (k) A method for reporting student data as required by
16 law and rule.
17 (l) Other information required by the local school
18 board or community college district board of trustees.
19
20 Students at a center must meet the same testing and academic
21 performance standards as those established by law and rule for
22 students at public schools and public technical centers. The
23 students must also meet any additional assessment indicators
24 that are included within the charter approved by the district
25 school board or community college district board of trustees.
26 (5) APPLICATION.--An application to establish a center
27 must be submitted by October February 1 of the year preceding
28 the school year in which the center will begin operation. The
29 sponsor must review the application and make a final decision
30 on whether to approve the application and grant the charter
31 within 60 days by March 1, and may condition the granting of a
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1229
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1 charter on the center's taking certain actions or maintaining
2 certain conditions. Such actions and conditions must be
3 provided to the applicant in writing. The local school board
4 or community college district board of trustees is not
5 required to issue a charter to any person.
6 (6) SPONSOR.--A district school board or community
7 college district board of trustees or a consortium of one or
8 more of each may sponsor a center in the county in which the
9 board has jurisdiction.
10 (a) A sponsor must review all applications for centers
11 received through at least October February 1 of each calendar
12 year for centers to be opened at the beginning of the
13 sponsor's next school year. A sponsor may receive
14 applications later than this date if it so chooses. To
15 facilitate an accurate budget projection process, a sponsor
16 shall be held harmless for FTE students that are not included
17 in the FTE projection due to approval of applications after
18 the FTE projection deadline. A sponsor must, by a majority
19 vote, approve or deny an application no later than 60 days
20 after the application is received. If an application is
21 denied, the sponsor must, within 10 days, notify the applicant
22 in writing of the specific reasons for denial, which must be
23 based upon a finding that the application does not meet the
24 purpose or any other applicable requirement of this section
25 good cause. Upon approval of a charter application, the
26 initial startup must be consistent with the beginning of the
27 public school or community college calendar for the district
28 in which the charter is granted, unless the sponsor allows a
29 waiver of this provision for good cause.
30 (c) The sponsor must act upon the recommendation of
31 the State Board of Education within 30 days after it is
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1 received, unless the sponsor determines by competent
2 substantial evidence that approving the state board's
3 recommendation would be contrary to law or the best interests
4 of the students or the community. The sponsor must notify the
5 applicant in writing concerning the specific reasons for its
6 failure to follow the state board's recommendation. The
7 sponsor's action on the state board's recommendation is a
8 final action, subject to judicial review.
9 (11) FUNDING.--
10 (a) Each school board and community college that
11 sponsors a charter technical career center shall pay directly
12 to the center at least 95 percent of eligible funds and may
13 retain up to 5 percent for administrative services an amount
14 stated in the charter. State funding shall be generated for
15 the center for its student enrollment and program outcomes as
16 provided in law. A center is eligible for funding from the
17 Florida Workforce Development Education Fund, the Florida
18 Education Finance Program, and the Community College Program
19 Fund, depending upon the programs conducted by the center.
20 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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23 HOUSE SUMMARY
24
With respect to charter technical career centers, revises
25 provisions relating to approval of a charter,
requirements of the application to establish a center,
26 dates for submission and approval of an application, the
basis of denial of an application, and funding of a
27 center by the center sponsor.
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